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Every Liverpool supporter has April 15 etched in memory. On that fateful day in 1989, 96 Liverpool supporters went to catch the FA Cup semifinal tie between their beloved club and Nottingham Forest at the Hillsborough Stadium. None of those 96 returned to their loved ones.

Over two decades since the incident, justice remains to be served, and the memory of the 96 is kept alive in various ways–including a solidarity walk/run by the KOPinoys. This tragedy has become part and parcel of the culture and tradition of Liverpool Football Club, and in many ways, gives us reason to fully understand what it means to never walk alone.

On the morning of Saturday April 15th 1989, thousands of Liverpool fans set off for an FA Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest at Hillsborough, the home of Sheffield Wednesday FC. Ninety-six Liverpool fans lost their lives that day and many hundreds of others were badly injured. For Liverpool fans, the number ‘96’ is etched in the collective memory alongside other numbers such as ‘5’ and ‘18’. The ‘96’ have become an intrinsic part of Liverpool Football Club.

From April 13 to 15, six Liverpool fans will run the 76 miles from Sheffield’s Leppings Lane to Anfield to raise funds for the 96 victims of the tragedy where accountability still has to be established to this day.

On the same day that the six LFC fans set out for the final leg to Anfield, Liverpool Football Club KOPinoys will walk/jog/run 15k (9+6=15 or 9.3 miles) to show support for their English brethren at the University of the Philippines. One lap around the Sunken Garden is 2.2K so a total of seven laps is just about right.

There will be no fees. Just wear your LFC colors and join the run. We will take pictures before, during, and after the run that we will send to the Hillsborough-Anfield Run and LFC Facebook sites not to mention our own.

Meeting time this Sunday, April 15, is at 6am outside the College of Business Administration. You might have to park in the nearby streets as Osmeña and Roxas Avenues are closed on Sundays to vehicular traffic to give way to runners. Our run begins at 6:15. Bring some water bottles.

Football is more than just the beautiful game. It has become a universal language through which people communicate with each other.

Going beyond a common understanding of the game’s rules, it has become an effective vehicle for fans sharing a passion for the same team to connect and interact, for a nation to rally behind its players in international competition, and yes, for various countries and cultures to unite for a particular cause.

“Dili Kamo Nag-iisa” was special, precisely because it united the local football community for the cause of extending assistance to the typhoon Sendong victims.

What started out as a simple idea initiated by Chris Greatwich over Twitter came into fruition as a match between the Azkals-UFL Alyansa and CF Internacional de Madrid, a team that plays in the Tercera División of the Spanish league.

Moreover, fundraising efforts from the charity match and its complementary activities are now expected to raise a substantial amount to aid those that have lost and that have been greatly affected as a result of massive flooding in areas such as Cagayan de Oro, Iligan City, and Dumaguete City.

And sometimes, just sometimes, the team performance and the scoreline are not the biggest takeaways from a match.

At the post-match press conference, Inter de Madrid coach Javier Garcia Marquez commented that the primary objective of the game was to raise funds, and the team did enough to meet such objective. Inter de Madrid striker Rufino Familiar Sanchez added that when the team found out that they would come to the Philippines to help the typhoon victims, they felt happy at the chance to do so. He also sent a “mucha fuerza” (be strong) and “un abrazo fuerte” (a big hug) to all those affected by Typhoon Sendong.

For one group of supporters, “Dili Kamo Nag-iisa” was also a perfect opportunity to show unity with and support for the typhoon victims. A group of fans that support Liverpool FC, known as the KOPinoys, also found time to organize themselves for the charity match. It was only fitting, especially since the charity match’s title, “Dili Kamo Nag-iisa” was inspired by “You’ll Never Walk Alone”, an anthem that has become inextricably linked with Liverpool FC.

Photo credits: Mark Cristino

“The KOPinoys is just a small group of Liverpool FC supporters, so we worked hard to get the word out and connect with Liverpool FC supporters in the Philippines for this cause,” explains Michelle Cortes, one of the active KOPinoys. “We’ve also been in touch with other Liverpool supporter groups that have expressed their desire to help typhoon Sendong victims, and they are also mobilizing resources that they would donate to the Philippine Red Cross.”

Photo credits: Mika Palileo

For many KOPinoys, “You’ll Never Walk Alone” takes on a very personal meaning. Marj Bonifacio shares, “’You’ll Never Walk Alone’ is not just a chant, an anthem, or a battle cry—it’s an expression of immeasurable and unconditional faith and love.”

Mitzi Alojipan reflects, “That in this life, we share the happiness, joys, blessings, struggles, difficulties, and challenges with our family and loved ones, even strangers—our fellowmen in general—we never walk alone. What the song means to me is that we can feel and empathize. Goodness and kindness connect us with everyone, and we will never be alone in our journey and that we have to do our share in being there for others to pay goodness forward.”

Walk on through the wind, walk on through the rain, though your dreams be tossed and blown. Walk on, walk on, with hope in your hearts, and you’ll never walk alone.

These were the words that were echoing around the Rizal Memorial Stadium as the players made the lap of honor and as people were filing out little by little. Yet, the Liverpool supporters stayed on to sing the song with all their hearts. What strikes anyone listening to the song is that it brings a strong message of hope and of comfort. For this group of supporters, all they could hope for was for those in Cagayan de Oro, Iligan City, and Dumaguete City to hear those words of encouragement—that amid the loss of properties and loved ones, the typhoon Sendong victims could once again stand on their feet, walk on, and continue living their lives.

Photo credits: Fritz Dalida

“Dili Kamo Nag-iisa” enabled many people to express their support and extend their assistance in whatever little way they can. This is the power of a game and a song—that they can unite and move communities into action, and send a strong message of hope for those in need. This is what walking on with hope in your heart means—to wake up each day with faith and conviction that a brighter future will come soon enough.

Some of you may have chanced upon this blog because you’ve been clicking around for information on “Dili Kamo Nag-Iisa”, the football match for the benefit of Typhoon Sendong victims, which will be held on Saturday, January 7th, 4 p.m. at the Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila.

For the uninitiated, “Dili Kamo Nag-iisa” was derived from the song “You’ll Never Walk Alone”, originally a show tune from the 1945 Rogers and Hammerstein musical “Carousel”. Eventually, the song has been adopted as an anthem by various football clubs around the world, but it has been inextricably associated with Liverpool F.C. (You may wish to read more about it here.) The song’s most popular recording has been the 1963 version of Gerry and the Pacemakers, a British musical group that also came from Liverpool.

For fellow Filipino football fans that have yet to hear this song, you can download the MP3 here.

What strikes anyone listening to the song is the powerful message of hope that it brings, despite the most trying of times. We hope that those badly affected by the impacts of Typhoon Sendong in the southern portions of the Philippines—the ones that lost possessions, properties, and loved ones—would find comfort in the words of this song. We hope that even in their dire situation, they would find the strength to walk on and continue living—because no matter what, there will always be the ones who would walk beside them.

We hope that you will all join us in singing this song on January 7th.

You’ll Never Walk Alone

When you walk through a storm
Hold your head up high
And don’t be afraid of the dark.

At the end of the storm
There’s a golden sky
And the sweet silver
Song of a lark.

True to our anthem, YOU’LL NEVER WALK ALONE, NOW is the perfect time to show our unity and collective effort in preaching the Liverpool gospel. We’re currently finalizing the other details of the donation drive for the TS Sendong/Washi victims in Mindanao. Here are the details so far:

1. On the January 7 Azkals-Inter de Madrid Charity match, LFC Philippines will set up a collecting station to gather donations from Pinoy Liverpool fans. Items will be turned over to the waiting donation trucks collectively from LFC Philippines. We are to give priority to clothing, beddings, and prepared food as donations.

2. For those who won’t be able to attend the January 7 match, a meet-up will be set on January 2, 7pm onwards at Burgos Circle, Fort area, to collect your donations. Our friend, Mika Palileo, has kindly volunteered to spearhead the meet-up. Follow and mention her on twitter for the meet-up details: http://www.twitter.com/swikey

The January 7 details on volunteers and event “set-up” will be released in the coming days. Meanwhile, please feel free to pass this message around. The more donations we can get, the better.

Follow us on twitter @lfcphilippines for details on the drive. You may also email us at lfckopinoys@ymail.com for questions, suggestions, and reactions.